


That’s Not How The Story Went

by sunnysideblonde



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dad!Kurapika, Dad!Leorio, Fluff, I promise, M/M, Mentioned Alluka Zoldyck, Mentioned Gon Freecss, Mentioned Gon Freecss/Killua Zoldyck, Mentioned Killua Zoldyck, Original Character - Freeform, it has a happy ending, leopika - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:53:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26282956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnysideblonde/pseuds/sunnysideblonde
Summary: Every night, Leorio’s daughter asks him to tell her the same story: the story of himself and the man he loved.
Relationships: Background Gon Freecss/Killua Zoldyck, Kurapika & Leorio Paladiknight, Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Comments: 4
Kudos: 117





	That’s Not How The Story Went

**Author's Note:**

> My first one shot!! I love Leopika so much, so it’s only fitting that they should have my first one!
> 
> Please let me know what you think!
> 
> (You can find me on tumblr @rosiesbizarreadventure !!!)

Steam rising from his mug, Leorio took a tentative sip of his tea, sighing contentedly at the soft blend of peppermint and valerian root. Pushing his reading glasses up on his nose, he flipped through his chapter of _Modern Medicine for the Up and Coming Doctor_ , words blurring together in front of tired eyes. Suddenly, the quick pitter-patter of excited footsteps rushing across the wooden floors of his old victorian house roused him from his languid state.

“Daddy!” The voice called, excitement ringing through the air. Leorio smiled and set down his book, holding his arms out for his daughter to rush into, letting out a surprised _oof!_ when she barreled into him. 

“Hey, honey. Are you almost ready for bed?” Leorio brushed her hair back fondly, looking into wide green eyes.

She smiled up at him, her grin completed by not one, but two of her front teeth missing. “Yep! Will you tell me the story?”

Leorio scooped his daughter up into his arms and carried her into her room, pulling back the soft blankets of her bed and gently tucking her in. “You want that story? Again?”

His daughter simply nodded and gave him a sleepy smile. Taking a deep breath, Leorio cleared his throat and started telling his daughter’s favorite story: his. “I was nineteen when I met him. I was young, I was silly, and I thought I knew everything.” Leorio chuckled, remembering. “He instantly changed all of that.”

“Was it love at first sight, daddy?”

Leorio smirked. “Definitely not. We butted heads almost instantly. We were both so headstrong, so proud, neither of us were willing to compromise.”

The little girl let out a soft yawn, making Leorio stifle his own. She pulled the covers up tighter, eyes sparkling with curiosity. “What changed and made you like each other?”

Leorio repositioned himself, moving so that he was lying next to his daughter on the bed, directly below a sign proudly proclaiming that ‘a princess sleeps here’. “Your uncle Gon, actually. When your uncle decided to dive off a boat to rescue someone who got thrown overboard, that’s when he and I worked together for the first time. Now, shh, let your dad finish telling the story.”

His daughter giggled in response, nodding her small head and closing her eyes.

“He and I, plus uncle Gon, had decided to take a test called the Hunter Exam. We wanted to be the best, we wanted to chase our dreams, and the exam was the best way to do it. Someday, when you’re older, I’ll tell you more about it.” Leorio paused for a moment, considering how much of the Hunter Exam he needed to censor for his six year old. He decided to censor a lot.

“Anyways, he and I took the test side by side. Even when I got discouraged, he was right there next to me, cheering me on.” Leorio smiled. “I never told him then, but I relied on him so much. If it weren’t for him, I don’t think I would have passed.”

His daughter’s eyes blew wide. “Wow,” she said simply. Leorio nodded his head, agreeing. 

“Eventually he, Gon, and I passed the test. Your uncle Killua had some….difficulties passing that year, and we went to visit his home so uncle Gon could see him again.”

“Did they love each other then?”

“Your uncle Gon and uncle Killua have a long history. When they first met they were only kids, too young to fully understand their feelings for each other.”

“But they love each other now?”

“They do! Do you remember going to their wedding a little while ago?” His daughter shook her head, a firm no. Leorio laughed. “You were two years old, I guess it would be a little hard to remember!”

Leorio fiddled with his watch before continuing. “Anyways, after your uncle Gon got uncle Killua, the four of us made plans to meet up in a few months, since we were all so busy.”

“What were you doing, daddy?” His daughter asked, curiosity evident on her small face.

“I was studying to become a doctor, remember?” She nodded her head, smiling, and Leorio resumed his story. “When the four of us met up again after a little while, and I saw him smile, I felt like my whole world had lit up again. I had been so busy studying and learning, that I forgot the thrill of being around people you love.”

Leorio looked down at his hands. “However, he was different when I saw him again. He had something special to him taken by a group of bad people, and it left him very sad. He was so motivated to get it back that he started acting differently.” Leorio sighed. “All I wanted for him was to be happy again, and knowing there wasn’t anything I could do hurt so very badly.”

His daughter reached out to grab his hand in her small one, and he smiled at her. “Thanks, honey.” He said softly. Giving her hand a soft squeeze, Leorio started talking once again. “He got a job, a dangerous one, one that he didn’t want, in order to get back his precious items. After a while, we sort of fell out of contact.”

The little girl looked up at him. “Really?”

Leorio nodded. “Really. I loved him so much, but we didn’t talk for a long time. It was a while later when we got in touch again, and that was when your uncle Gon had his big accident.”

“What did he say?”

“He told me not to talk to him. He said he was sorry, that he missed us, but that he needed to get back what was taken from him. That doing that was his main purpose. Honey, at that point in his life, he was most afraid of not being angry anymore.”

His daughter’s confusion was evident on her face. “But why? Why would he want to stay angry?”

Leorio signed. “I’m not sure. I think he was afraid, deep down. I think he thought that, if he wasn’t angry anymore, he wouldn’t be able to remember the people and things he wanted to remember, that he would lose his sense of self if his anger subsided.”

“So what happened?”

“Well, your uncle Killua and aunt Alluka saved uncle Gon, and he and I agreed to go our separate ways.”

His daughter let out a small gasp. “But why, daddy? Didn’t you love him?”

Leorio gave his daughter a sad smile. “I did. More than I realized at the time. But sometimes, if you love something, you have to let it go.”

Leorio didn’t have to look over at his daughter to know she was frowning. Leaning over to kiss her forehead, he suddenly heard the floorboards creak, and saw his husband walk through the doorway. 

“Hmm,” Kurapika hummed, giving Leorio a slight smirk. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s not how the story went.”

“Sure feels like it,” Leorio grumbled, still holding onto his twelve-year grudge. 

“Dad!” A sleepy voice shouts from beside Leorio, and Kurapika’s smirk melts into a soft smile at the sound of his daughter’s voice. 

“Mizelle,” Kurapika says, trying to sound strict, but failing miserably. “Weren’t you supposed to be asleep by now?”

Their daughter gives Kurapika her best puppy dog eyes. “But daddy was telling me the story of how the two of you fell in love!”

Kurapika narrows his eyes teasingly at Leorio, who simply rolled his in response. “Your daddy is a liar. What do we say about lying, Mizelle?”

Mizelle grins. “Lying is bad!”

Kurapika returns her grin with one of his own. “You’re absolutely right, honey. Lying _is_ bad.” He walks over to the bed, leaning down to give his daughter a kiss on the forehead. Leorio quickly follows suit, fluffing up her pillows and putting her favorite stuffed animal right next to her. They both wish their daughter a good night, closing the door just enough to leave a crack of light peeking through from the hallway, and make their way to their bedroom.

“Are you ever going to tell her the real version of the story?” Kurapika asks his husband, poking him in the side. 

Leorio rolls his eyes at him. “No.” He seems to consider it for a moment, and smirks, adding on, “actually, maybe, if you could make it up to me. You do know my favorite bedroom activity, after all.”

Kurapika groans, exasperated. “Really? That’s what this is going to take for you to get over it?”

Leorio grins. “Yep,” he says, popping the p. He flops down on the bed, rolling over to look at Kurapika. “You know how I like it,” he winks at his husband.

Kurapika sighs. “Yeah,” he agrees, pulling back the covers, “I do.”

* * *

The next morning when Leorio woke up, he saw exactly what he wanted sitting on the bedside table next to him. A glass of orange juice, eggs sunny side up, a few thick strips of bacon, and a half a grapefruit. Hearing laughter, he turns his head to see the heads of his daughter and his husband popping out from the doorframe of their bedroom.

“Just how you like it,” Kurapika winks at him. Leorio gives him a knowing look, watching his daughter run off and his husband chase after her.

Taking a sip of his orange juice and settling comfortably against the headboard, Leorio smiles to himself. “And they lived happily ever after.”


End file.
